Group fears weakening of school accountability

A coalition of Texas business leaders announced Wednesday that it would oppose future hikes in education funding if Texas officials weaken standardized testing standards.

Posted: June 27, 2012 - 3:25pm

AUSTIN, TEXAS (AP) — A coalition of Texas business leaders announced Wednesday that it would oppose future hikes in education funding if Texas officials weaken standardized testing standards, a step the group contends would hurt the state's efforts to hold public schools more accountable.

The Texas Coalition for a Competitive Workforce blamed teachers and school administrators for "demonizing" standardized testing and panicking parents about exams such as STAAR, which was administered statewide for the first time this year.

"They've gone about scaring mom. They've told mom that Johnny is not going to UT because of the end of course exam," Bill Hammond, president of the influential Texas Association of Business, said during a news conference at the state Capitol. He was referring to the University of Texas.

Hammond said superintendents are so worried that their schools will be shown to have poorly prepared students for exams that "they have built a firestorm across the state."

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, is replacing the frequently criticized TAKS test as the statewide measure for how well students and schools perform. STAAR was originally designed to count 15 percent toward ninth graders' final grades in key subjects to ensure they took the test seriously — but that requirement was suspended for a year amid a backlash from students and parents who worried it could hurt grade-point averages and make Texas kids less attractive to college admissions boards.

But the complaints from education groups and parents about STAAR have continued, fueling speculation that lawmakers could further alter the test when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

The Texas Education Agency, which administers STAAR, points out that there are often hiccups and logistical hurdles whenever a new statewide standardized test is introduced and that the initial problems are easily corrected.

Bernie Frances, chairman of the Texas Business Leadership Council Education Task Force, said standardized tests might eventually be so watered-down that they won't ensure students statewide are adequately prepared. He said only about 30 percent of Texas youngsters are currently "getting the credentials most people will need to succeed in our new economy."

There is "a serious and unprecedented, and totally unacceptable challenge that has been made to our progress in improving education," Frances said, and characterized school leaders as "local bureaucrats demanding that the system be dismantled."

The coalition said it would oppose future funding increases for public schools if the current accountability system is weakened — and said pro-education groups that have opposed past state-cuts to school funding while also opposing more standardized tests, "want more money for less accountability."

Last year, the Legislature rewrote the school funding formula to cut $4 billion, despite average public school enrollment increasing by 80,000 students per year statewide. Another $1.4 billion in cuts were made to grant programs. All told, Texas' per-student funding fell more than $500.

Clay Robison, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, said business groups have been strong supporters of Gov. Rick Perry and conservative lawmakers who have advocated cuts to public schools. He said last year's funding decreases meant about 25,000 school employees had been laid off.

"They think there's something magical about the STAAR testing system, as if it means we can slash and burn the education funding and somehow expect our students to perform better," Robison said.

He said teachers are not anti-accountability but do want more input in designing the standardized test used to measure student performance.

"Let the teachers, the real experts, design a system that truly works," he said. "Not entrepreneurs."

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HaHAHaHAHA, let them oppose them, if no one there realizes there have been no HIKES, or increases, in funding for public education it's not worth arguing with them about. It has been nothing but a downward spiral since the state lowered everyone's property taxes and promised the busines franchise tax would cover the difference. In politician speak, there are some that say Texas actually did increase it last year, but the bottom line is those funds had previously been provided federally... So our schools took a hit as duly noted... How about Mr Hammonds group step up and guarantee, in writing, to every high school freshman that upon their graduation from college they will hire them into a 6 figure job AND assist them in paying off those wonderful student loans.

The testing is a waste of time for the students and a waste of money for the taxpayers. Parents pay attention, your kids can be sick on all of those testing days, don't send them back to school until the tests have been sent back. Watch how quickly the pols will back up when that happens. It will work and this is just the state to make it happen.

My opinion, as a parent, is that the time in which it was acceptable for our schools to subject students to day after day of standardized testing has passed. Public schools, like all public agencies, need to be held accountable for performance, but there are an infinite number of ways to accomplish that without using 40+ class days for meaningless testing.

The bottom line on standardized testing is money. We allowed our legislators to create this "cash cow". Perhaps it is time that we encouraged them at the polls to take another tack.

Not mentioned in this article is that Mr. Hammond's organization is joining with a pro-voucher group (TREE-Texans for Real Equality in Education) to file a school finance suit (not the lawsuit that Texas ISD's are involved in).

Mr. Hammons's comments: "The business community has a right to be involved in the lawsuit because it pays for two-thirds of the cost of education and is the ultimate consumer of the product of our Texas public education system.

They support the Texas GOP Party Platform that calls for more cuts to education than in the 82nd Legislative Session, tax-payer funded vouchers and no accountability systems (or testing) for private or home school education.

Why would they want to do this? To open up the Texas Public Education System to Educational Corporations that start for-profit-schools.

Education is the last institution that has not been taken over by the Corporateurs of America. Between the GOP and The Texas Association of Business, they will ensure that Texas is "open for business".